CD Review: "Brief Encounter"

Brief Encounter

By Nathan Cone

Opera can be many things, but quiet and subtle are not usually among them. André Previn’s operatic adaptation of the David Lean film “Brief Encounter” premiered last year on stage with the Houston Grand Opera, and that performance has now been released on compact disc. What works on stage doesn’t always translate to the aural-exclusive world of home listening, so does “Brief Encounter” hold up?

The work follows the plot of the film (and Noel Coward’s play, “Still Life”) closely. Middle-aged Laura falls for handsome doctor Alec upon a chance encounter at the railway station where the two cross paths every Thursday. For weeks, they carry on a fledgling romance until fate steals them apart. Like the film, the opera is set as one long flashback, occasionally stepping into the sitting room where Laura spends time with her husband, Fred. I liked the way librettist John Caird expanded the role of Fred. In the film, he spends most of his time pecking away at a crossword puzzle, but in the opera, he’s a more well-rounded character with feelings. His aria where he wonders aloud why his wife has been so distant from him (“Without you there is nothing”) is one of the emotional highlights of Previn’s “Brief Encounter.”

In fact, most of the solo and duet scenes are well-written, especially the final moments of the work. But inevitably, comparisons between the film and the opera lead me to prefer the former. No, not because I missed the Rachmaninoff! But one of the things film has over recorded opera is that it’s more effective at conveying intimacy. Perhaps subtle lighting on stage could have helped out, but alas I was not in the audience. The Lean film was great at framing its characters in close-ups, and when Alec and Laura finally part, the “goodbyes” are quiet. But here, they are … well, less quiet. And as more characters appear on stage, Previn’s tendency is to have their vocal lines jump up and down the staff. I guess based on the story, I hoped for more flowing lines than I heard here.

There’s a constant motif of time woven throughout the narrative and music, whether it’s the train station schedule, or time running out on the doomed lovers. A peek at the cover of the CD reveals some of the opera’s staging, as Laura is framed by a giant clock. It’s an effective musical and dramatic tool. I think I’d rather enjoy taking the time to see “Brief Encounter” in person to get the full effect of the work. Perhaps then I’d appreciate the opera on disc even more.

--Nathan Cone

Eat Pray Love Classical Style

Perhaps you read the 2006 memoir "Eat, Pray, Love" or went and saw the movie this weekend. Author Elizabeth Gilbert chronicles the her trip around the world after a divorce, and what she discovered during her travels. Julia Roberts portrays Gilbert in the movie:

While the soundtrack for the movie has Gilberto, Neil Young and Eddie Vedder amongst others, we thought you might enjoy a classical take on EAT, PRAY, LOVE.

EAT
William Walton's masterpiece, Belshazzar's Feast:


PRAY
Alan Hovhaness' Prayer of St. Gregory:


LOVE
Nino Rota's Score for Romeo and Juliet:


What are some of your favorites to Eat Pray Love? Tell us in the comments section.

Why do you want to dance? Why do you want to live?

The Red Shoes, the rapturous 1948 British film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, is being released next week on DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection after a lengthy restoration.

The Red Shoes is not just a great backstage film, it’s about the burning hunger that great artists have within them to create. In fact, The Red Shoes even goes as far as to suggest that art is something worth dying for. In the freshly post-war England, this must have been a daring thematic choice. After all, citizens for years had been dying for crown and country, and now, for dance? But for the artists of The Red Shoes, dance they must.

The film’s origins go back as far as the early thirties, when the British producer and director Alexander Korda was considering a project based on the Ballet Russes. The character of Boris Lermontov, who proclaims that a dancer who relies on the comforts of human love will never be a great dancer, was based in part on the great Ballet Russe impresario Sergei Diaghalev. Diaghalev’s most famous star, Vaslav Nijinsky, was a troubled man that spent the latter part of his life in institutions.

In The Red Shoes, conflict arises when the young star played by Moira Shearer finds herself torn between Lermontov and her newfound love, composer Julian Craster, played by Marius Goring. Craster accuses Lermontov of being jealous of Victoria. And he is, but not in that way. She’s not in love with Lermontov, and neither is he with her, but both of them know greatness, what it takes to achieve it, and the alternative to feeding that artistic hunger—oblivion.

The centerpiece of the film is the "Red Shoes Ballet," ostensibly a stage production, but in the film, it’s a fifteen-minute sequence that draws upon the conventions and techniques of silent film to create something that could only be produced on the screen. Camera tricks, flashy cutting, and the placement of the frame on stage give the viewer the sense that we’re in the ballet, rather than watching it from seats in an auditorium. So effective was the sequence that dancer Gene Kelly had his colleagues watch it somewhere between fifteen and eighteen times while they were preparing An American in Paris a few years after this film’s release.

Moira Shearer is perfectly cast as Victoria Page. It was Powell and Pressburger’s decision that they find a real ballerina for the part, rather than an actress that would be doubled on stage by a dancer; it was their luck that Page was as splendid an actress as she was a dancer, and with her fiery red hair, a striking presence on screen. As Lermontov, Anton Walbrook creates and artistic dictator that actually demands sympathy and understanding for his point of view. Like the artists that work for him, Lermontov is driven to create.

Scoring the picture was Brian Easdale, who had worked with Powell and Pressburger before. Musically, Easdale recognized that the ballet, like popular taste, had not yet caught up with the modernism of mid-20th century classical music. There was no way this dark fairytale could be brought to life with Twelve-tone music! So Easdale created a romantic score fitting of the Red Shoes 19th century origins, but brought it into the 20th century with the use of the Ondes Martenot, a unique musical instrument with an eerie sound akin to the Theremin.

The Red Shoes was badly in need of restoration when in 2006, the UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Film Foundation were approached to work on the film. As Red Shoes enthusiast Martin Scorsese so clearly explains on the new DVD and Blu-ray of the film, The Red Shoes was one of the prime examples of the three-strip Technicolor process, which provided radiant hues on screen. But the original negatives were in poor condition, suffering from mold damage, dirt, and color problems. 579,000 frames of film were scanned and cleaned to create a new master print of The Red Shoes. Now, the movie is on DVD and high-definition Blu-ray for all to enjoy, and it looks and sounds spectacular. There’s a great demonstration on the disc of the restoration process, a documentary on the making of the film, behind the scenes photos, and a commentary track that includes interviews with the film’s stars, as well as with composer Brian Easdale and cinematographer Jack Cardiff, both of whom won Oscars for their work on The Red Shoes.

Martin Scorsese, a huge fan of The Red Shoes, says he’s seen the film countless times since he was a young boy of 7 or 8. It’s a good bet that if the DVD or Blu-ray finds its way to your shelf, you may find yourself returning it to it many times, too.

(UNTITLED) the movie

(UNTITLED), an original film satire of New York’s avant-garde art scene, will appear in theaters across the nation this fall. By poking fun at the idiosyncrasies of 21st century Bohemia, (UNTITLED) introduces American audiences to some of the best that contemporary art has to offer, notably a score by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, who merges the artistic expressions of the composer protagonist with his own musical voice.

(UNTITLED) revolves around melancholy composer Adrian (Adam Goldberg) and his whirlwind affair with a Chelsea gallerist (Marley Shelton), who unbeknownst to Adrian sells vacuous commercial works to high-paying corporate clients. The film explores the idea of true art and the question of integrity lost through commercialism – all with tongue in cheek. At the beginning, Adrian’s music comprises cliché contemporary classical music elements, such as crinkling paper and breaking glass. Once his perspective and emotions achieve depth and insight through his blossoming romance, his music becomes more profound.

Host John Clare had a chance to send questions to both David Lang and Adam Goldberg, here are Lang’s answers about (UNTITLED):

1. Often with a joke, there is some seriousness or truth behind it. Is there some truth to this movie even though there is some fun being poked?
There is a lot of truth in this movie, mostly about how people in the arts become passionately committed to something they believe in that may look unbelievable from the outside. I think that creative commitment is captured very well, as is the distance between the committed people and the people watching the committed people.

2. How cool is it for the composer to “get the girl” in this movie? Did it influence your music for the film?
Getting the girl didn’t influence my thinking in the movie, although it didn’t hurt. The progression of the character musically is that he begins by making music only for himself, because that is how large his world view is; when he meets the girl his senses and optimism and maybe even his idea of audience expand, and his music changes accordingly. I definitely tried to make that shift happen in the music.

3. There are new pieces and some of your older works like “Anvil Chorus” and “Cheating, Lying, Stealing” on the soundtrack – how did you decide to use older works, and can you see some of the cues/soundtrack in your concert music as a suite or other piece?
The original idea of the director was that he only wanted to license one piece of mine – he thought the composer, upon falling in love, would be seen ‘composing’ my piano solo WED. I talked the director into letting me use more of my music in other places, and write music where it was needed, but the whole connection began with the idea of using my real concert music. that said, I don’t think I would make a concert version of these cues – Lawson White, who produced the soundtrack, and I worked very hard to make it sound like real film music – having worked that hard to get it out of the new music world it would be silly to try to force it back in.

4. This looks like an ideal movie for a composer – can you see yourself in other movie projects, or is there an “ideal” for creating music with images/stories? Obviously multimedia is already a wonderful aspect of Bang on a Can…
I really identified with this composer and I felt very flattered that the filmmaker, Jonathan Parker, ennobled composers everywhere by wanting to make a movie about one of us. I’d like to do more such things – I love the idea of working with visuals and with film, and I have done a fair amount of that in my real life – working with Doug Aitken or Bill Morrison or Matt Mullican, etc. the thing I don’t think I would like to do too often is help other people make their projects – when you are composing for film or dance or theater a lot of what you are doing is helping someone else out artistically. You are helping someone else realize his or her vision. Most of the composers I know became composers because they have their own visions they want to realize. I can definitely see doing more film music but it has to be offset by other things that I get to control….

5. There have been quite a few composers in pop culture these days, from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (Jason Segal) to “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” (Natalie Portman’s piano/composer) and the likes of Paul McCartney & Billy Joel writing new classical music. Is composition a new cool as nerds (think Big Bang Theory) are?
But everyone knows that composers are cool. The nice thing is seeing that fact acknowledged publicly.

Clare finds out more about (UNTITLED) from its star, Adam Goldberg.

1. Often with a joke, there is some seriousness or truth behind it. Is there some truth to this movie even though there is some fun being poked?
Well, actually upon my last viewing of it, the second time I watched it with an audience, albeit at LACMA–the perfect audience–it seemed to have a real weight to it. The film sort of takes a turn once the absurdity is established I think. For me the film really has always been about this righteous indignation, this sort of defensiveness of one’s position–whether as an artist or a audience member or a critic or an art dealer, in this case–that really is front for enormous insecurity. These characters are all wayward and tend to overcompensate with very stringent , often absurd, points of view.

2. There are some outrageous sounds and art. How does your taste run in real life – in both “new concert music” and “art”?
I definitely have always been obsessed with sound and strange sounds and repitition, but usually incorporated into something melodic or hypnotic in some way. I have for a long time been a fan of Steve Reich–whose work began with simple tape loops and phasing of found material, but eventually he applied this process to beautiful symphonic pieces. I have also been a fan of some conceptual art, but usually when it engages the viewer, interacts with him or her in some way or tells a story. I don’t like things that seem to aim merely to shock or to alienate. Basically if it moves me or I can relate to it in some way then, well, I like it.

3. David Lang is a Pulitzer Prize winner and incredibly gifted composer, but unfortunately not a household name – how was he chosen for the movie, and how was collaboration with Untitled?
I believe Jonathan, the director, knew David from music school. He had an interesting job, both to score the film and create the ’sound’ pieces our little group performs–though in the end it was so bizarrely structured and arranged that we could often only barely perform to playback so much of the “music” we’re making we actually are making. David also served I think as a bit of a consultant to Jonathan when he was writing this, creating my character. I love David’s music and this score is quite beautiful I think.

4. What is the possibility of Untitled 2, or Untitled – the Showtime series?
Ha!

5. There have been quite a few composers in pop culture these days, from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (Jason Segal) to “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” (Natalie Portman’s piano/composer) and the likes of Paul McCartney & Billy Joel writing new classical music. Is composition a new cool as nerds (think Big Bang Theory) are?
Hmmm….I’ve never thought “Big Bang Theory.” Well, I remember years ago Elvis Costello put out a sort of classical record with the Brodsky Quartet that was pretty innovative. Conversely, Philip Glass many many years ago started I think to incorporate a sort of popular music element–singing an so forth–into his music. I think there’s always been some overlap. I saw a great piece that a childhood friend of my girlfriend’s put on. MIchael. Einziger from Incubus of all things. It was fantastic, sort of Reich meets Bernard Hermann. I think there’s something that feels for lack of a better word “legitimate” about working with classical elements. I know that some of the stuff musically I’ve done musically, with my project LANDy , that I’ve been most proud of incorporates some classical elements–arrangements of strings and that sort of thing. Albeit I’m usually humming the arrangements like a crazy person to the poor violinists.

(UNTITLED) opens tomorrow, October 23rd, in a limited release; and the soundtrack is out already from Cantaloupe!

The Soloist on DVD

By Nathan Cone

In 2005, a Los Angeles Times reporter stumbled upon a unique sight in the middle of downtown L.A. on his way back to the office. There was a lone man, in his mid fifties, playing a violin with two missing strings. Something about the man intrigued Lopez, and after some conversation and a little digging, Lopez found out the man, Nathaniel Ayers, was a former Julliard student whose schizophrenia led him to life on the streets for over 30 years. Through a series of columns in the Los Angeles Times, Lopez told Ayers’ story, and how the two men developed a friendship that went beyond the typical journalist/subject relationship.

Sounds like a great idea for a movie, right? In a special feature included on the DVD of the film “The Soloist,” Lopez himself talks about how Hollywood producers came knocking on his door soon after the story began to develop in the paper. But what works well on the page doesn’t always translate to the screen.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Lopez in the film “The Soloist,” and Jamie Foxx stars as Ayers. Both men deliver solid, compassionate performances. But even though it seems like all cylinders are firing in “The Soloist,” there’s a curious lack of emotional connection to the story and characters. I’ve tried to think what it is that is keeping this story at arm’s length. Downey Jr. does well in portraying the determination to get the story that feeds the reporter’s soul, and nothing about Foxx’s role as Ayers is syrupy or over-the-top as one might fear. Maybe it’s something about the disease itself. Ayers’ schizophrenia led him to distance himself from family and friends, fearful of the voices in his head. And if even family members had a hard time connecting to Ayers, that means there’s an extra challenge in store for the filmmakers when all you have is a two-hour movie.

I haven’t read Lopez’ columns or the subsequent book that “The Soloist” is based on, but I suspect that the story reads better than it plays on screen. The printed word may be better at conveying the emotional heft of Ayers’ relationship with Lopez (and Beethoven); or, at least it may allow for more time for the audience to develop an understanding of Ayers and schizophrenia in general.

“The Soloist” is not without its merits, though. By illustrating that Nathaniel Ayers’ story is one of many on L.A.’s Skid Row, this movie fulfills an important mission. In another of the DVD’s special features, volunteers and staff members from LAMP (Los Angeles Men’s Project) and Midnight Mission in Los Angeles speak in plain truths about the homeless problem in L.A. Casey Horan, LAMP’s Executive Director, points out the astonishing statistic that Los Angeles has more homeless persons than New York City, Chicago, Houston, Portland, San Francisco and Philadelphia combined. If the only thing “The Soloist” does is raise greater awareness of the homeless population, and the need for humanitarian and financial aid, then it has succeeded.

Related story: “The Soloist” featured on NPR’s News & Notes.

How do you say that again?

San Antonio fans of Philip Glass have reason to celebrate this week, as Texas Public Radio's Cinema Tuesdays series brings a public screening of the 1983 film "Koyaanisqatsi" to the big screen at the Bijou at Crossroads theater. The highly influential film, directed by Godfrey Reggio, uses only the music of Philip Glass as its soundtrack as images of our modern world whiz by on the screen.

Showtime is 7:30 p.m., July 2.

More information is online at http://www.tpr.org/.

At the Cinema

Hope you enjoyed Mr. Smith Goes to Washington last night - remember the finale for Cinema Tuesdays changes location next week - At the Death House Door will be at 7pm at Santikos Palladium IMAX Theater - and will include a Q&A session with Rev. Carroll Pickett (seen left) afterwards. Suggested donations of $10 for members and $12 for non-members will get you in for these one-time only showings!
To make reservations, call 614-8977, or 1-800-622-8977, during regular business hours. All proceeds from the Cinema Tuesdays series benefit Texas Public Radio.

In other cinema news, classical fans will want to note this new development about Gustav Mahler (pictured right) on the silver screen!
Percy Adlon develops 'Mahler'
Film to be based on events, eyewitness accounts
By ELSA BERTET
"Bagdad Cafe's" director Percy Adlon has teamed up with his son Felix and wife Eleonore to develop "Mahler auf der Couch," a psychological drama about the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler's life. Set in 1910, plot deals with the composer's tumultuous marital life with Alma and his ambivalent relationship with Sigmund Freud.

"This film is a real small drama, it's not what I call a brown period piece," said Percy Adlon, who wrote the film based on actual events, eyewitness accounts and Mahler's journal entries. "And hopefully people will experience this story in musical terms as if a contemporary composer had described it."
Adlon plans on shooting in Holland, Vienna and Munich for a 2010 release, in time for Mahler's 150th anniversary. Budgeted at 3.5 million euros, pic will be co-produced by Eleonore Adlons' shingle, Leora Films, and CultFilm. The Bavarian cast includes Barbara Romaner, Johannes Silberschneider and Karl Markovics. L.A. Philharmonic music director Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct the film's music. The composer's life has already been depicted in Ken Russell's "Mahler," which earned a Bafta nod in 1975. Adlon is also presenting the director's cut, HD-restored version of "Bagdad Cafe" at the Cannes Market.
Read the full article at: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117986070.html

Coming to a theater near you

The Metropolitian Opera is expanding their offerings (to 11, up from 8 last year) and to new theaters! In San Antonio, you can see the operas at:
Fiesta 16 Theatres (12631 VANCE JACKSON SAN ANTONIO, TX 78230 210-641-6906)
or
Cielo Vista 18 (2828 CINEMA RIDGE SAN ANTONIO, TX 78238 210-680-1125).
Tickets go on sale August 22nd to the general public.


The 11 productions scheduled are:
Opening Night Gala Starring Renée Fleming
La Traviata (Act II) – VerdiManon (Act III) – MassenetCapriccio (Final Scene) – Richard Strauss
Monday, September 22, 2008 (6:30 pm ET) - The Americas
For the season-opening gala starring Renée Fleming, Music Director James Levine and Marco Armiliato conduct fully staged performances of the second act of Verdi’s La Traviata, the third act of Massenet’s Manon, and the final scene from Richard Strauss’s Capriccio. Tenor Ramón Vargas and baritones Thomas Hampson and Dwayne Croft join the soprano.
Conductors: James Levine and Marco Armiliato; Renée Fleming, Ramón Vargas, Thomas Hampson, Dwayne Croft
Salome – Strauss
Saturday, October 11, 2008 (1:00 pm ET)
Karita Mattila caused a sensation when she sang Salome at the Met for the first time in 2004. She reprises her stunning interpretation of the part, including her unforgettable Dance of the Seven Veils.
Conductor: Mikko Franck; Production: Jürgen Flimm; Karita Mattila, Ildikó Komlósi, Juha Uusitalo, Kim Begley, Joseph Kaiser
Doctor Atomic (Met Premiere) – Adams
Saturday, November 8, 2008 (1:00 pm ET)
John Adams’s contemporary masterpiece explores a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut with this gripping story that changed the course of history. Baritone Gerald Finley plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character.
Conductor: Alan Gilbert; Production: Penny Woolcock; Sasha Cooke, Meredith Arwady, Gerald Finley, Eric Owens, Richard Paul Fink
La Damnation de Faust (New Production) – Berlioz
Saturday, November 22, 2008 (1:00 pm ET)
Robert Lepage, one of theater’s most imaginative directors, applies his artistry to Berlioz’s contemplation of good and evil. Using projections, Lepage has created a vision for La Damnation de Faust that seamlessly marries art and technology. Marcello Giordani stars in the title role opposite Susan Graham as Marguerite and John Relyea as Méphistophélès. James Levine conducts this rarely staged masterwork.
Conductor: James Levine; Production: Robert Lepage; Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, John Relyea
Thaïs (New Production) – Massenet
Saturday, December 20, 2008 (12:00 pm ET)
Renée Fleming stars as the Egyptian courtesan in search of spiritual sustenance. Thomas Hampson is the monk who falls from grace. Massenet’s sensual opera is presented in a new production by John Cox.
Conductor: Jesús López-Cobos; Production: John Cox; Renée Fleming, Thomas Hampson, Michael Schade
La Rondine (New Production) – Puccini
Saturday, January 10, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna provide the star power to deliver this ravishing romance from the world’s most popular opera composer. Gheorghiu plays the kept woman who gambles on true love, and Alagna is the man who makes her question the cost of her glittering existence. Nicolas Joël directs the new production of this gorgeously melodic look at love.
Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Nicolas Joël; Angela Gheorghiu, Lisette Oropesa, Roberto Alagna, Marius Brenciu, Samuel Ramey
Orfeo ed Euridice – Gluck
Saturday, January 24, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Mark Morris’s acclaimed production returns. This complete vision for Gluck, with choreography by Morris and costumes by Isaac Mizrahi, features the artistry of Stephanie Blythe in the male title role. The alluring Danielle de Niese is Orfeo’s adored wife, Euridice, who inspires the hero to face the underworld for her sake. Music Director James Levine conducts.
Conductor: James Levine; Production: Mark Morris; Stephanie Blythe, Danielle de Niese
Lucia di Lammermoor – Donizetti
Saturday, February 7, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Anna Netrebko sings the title role of Donizetti’s fragile heroine for the first time at the Met, with tenor Rolando Villazón in the part of her lover, Edgardo. Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien is her tyrannical brother. Mary Zimmerman’s hit production is staged as a Victorian ghost story. Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Production: Mary Zimmerman; Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Mariusz Kwiecien, Ildar Abdrazakov
Madama Butterfly – Puccini
Saturday, March 7, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Cristina Gallardo-Domâs returns to the title role of Anthony Minghella’s stunning production, a new classic of the Met repertory, opposite Marcello Giordani.
Conductor: Patrick Summers; Production: Anthony Minghella; Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, Marcello Giordani
La Sonnambula (New Production) – Bellini
Saturday, March 21, 2009 (1:00 pm ET)
Mary Zimmerman, who directed Natalie Dessay in last season’s hit production of Lucia di Lammermoor, underlines La Sonnambula’s dual elements of sleep and wakefulness in an intriguing staging set in the present. Bellini’s hauntingly lyrical score soars as performed by Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez, back from their sensational run together in La Fille du Régiment.
Conductor: Evelino Pidò; Production: Mary Zimmerman; Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Flórez, Michele Pertusi
La Cenerentola – Rossini
Saturday, May 9, 2009 (12:30 pm ET)
Hot on the heels of her triumphant Met debut as Rosina in last season’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Elīna Garanča portrays another Rossini charmer in this bel canto Cinderella story. Lawrence Brownlee is her Prince Charming. Veteran baritone Alessandro Corbelli demonstrates his impeccable comic timing to match the gravitas of Met favorite John Relyea.
Conductor: Maurizio Benini; Production: Cesare Lievi; Elīna Garanča, Lawrence Brownlee, Simone Alberghini, Alessandro Corbelli, John Relyea

*Programs and casting subject to change. Running times are approximate.